Irish fans to pay Hillsborough tribute

Football fans in Ireland will pay tribute to the 25th anniversary of Hillsborough by holding a 96-minute walk around Dublin's Phoenix Park on Saturday.

'Ireland Walks with the 96' has been organised by the YNWA Irish Reds supporters' club and will take place on April 12, beginning at 3.07pm.

A short prayer service and a minute's silence will be held at the conclusion of the walk.

96 balloons will then be released before letters will be read out from members of family support groups, including one penned by Margaret Aspinall, chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group.

"We've got 96 red t-shirts printed which we will give out on the day and we're hoping everyone else who attends will wear their red colours or whatever football jerseys they want," organiser Simon Mooney said.

"We want to get as many people there as possible on the day to mark the 25th anniversary. The idea started when we got talking on forums and the Facebook page online. It's all just happened in the last two weeks."